By Ellen Curnow of the Westport News
Allan Birchfield. Photo: West Coast Regional Council
Ratepayers forked out nearly $40,000 for investigations into complaints dumped West Coast Regional Council (WCRC) chairperson councillor Allan Birchfield and councillor Frank Dooley laid against each other.
The News requested the full costs under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act (LGOIMA).
Birchfield's complaint that Dooley allegedly assaulted him before a recruitment panel meeting to discuss a new chief executive appointment was investigated by barrister Josh Lucas.
The investigation cost $10,743.65.
Lucas found no assault had occurred and concluded that Birchfield's complaint had been "malicious". Several witnesses to the row said Birchfield had tried to provoke Dooley, repeatedly yelling, "Hit me, Frank". Birchfield confirmed this to Lucas.
While that complaint was under investigation, Dooley laid his own code of conduct complaint against Birchfield. He said Birchfield had leaked confidential letters about former chief executive Heather Mabin's employment to the media.
The complaint was investigated by barrister Amy Keir. The investigation cost $19,865.37.
Keir found, "on the balance of probabilities", that Birchfield had acted "in bad faith" by intentionally leaking the documents.
The WCRC spent a further $9373.10 on general costs relating to the two complaints, the LGOIMA response revealed. This did not include staff time.
Birchfield was censured, banned from committee meetings and ordered to apologise to Mabin at an extraordinary meeting last month.
Frank Dooley. Photo: Supplied
At the same meeting, councillors cleared Dooley of any wrongdoing.
Birchfield refused to accept the minutes of the extraordinary meeting were a "true and correct record" when they were tabled at last week's WCRC meeting.
Dooley said that Birchfield had again complained.
"After that meeting, there was an email sent by Birchfield to the CEO ... questioning the process of the code of conduct inquiry and its compliance with the Local Government Act. Has that email been investigated? Has there been a response?"
New chief executive Darryl Lew said he had replied to Birchfield's email. The council had sought legal advice.
"The process that was taken was lawful, within delegations and had clear separation of conflicts of interest."
Dooley believes costs related to Birchfield's actions while he was chair are much higher than $40,000.
In a letter published in The News soon after last month's extraordinary meeting, Dooley said "three recent employment settlements, including legal and investigation fees, have cost ratepayers over $620,000..."
The figure did not include costs associated with recruiting replacements, Dooley's letter said.
"As a new councillor, I had a massive concern about the culture inherited from the previous council chaired by councillor Birchfield and the ongoing costs to ratepayers of inappropriate actions or failures of the then chair.
"These costs to date have been swept under the carpet but they are real, in my opinion excessive, and are all paid by ratepayers."
The following week the Greymouth Star published Dooley's letter with a response from Birchfield.
"In my 19 years on council, I have never seen a councillor discuss staff settlements in the media," Birchfield wrote.
"Bulking every past council failure as a cost against me as chairman confirms councillor Dooley's agenda, which has been clear for months. I won't enter into a debate in the media with councillor Dooley and will leave the outcome to the proper authorities."